‘I wasn’t expecting it’ – Inside Bournemouth’s futuristic new base including indoor dome
YOU turn the corner at the end of a mile-long drive and suddenly Bournemouth’s ambition smacks you in the face.
Behind the ornamental fountains is the stunning main building of the Cherries’ new £40million Performance Centre, which opened this week.
As the Dorset sunshine pours down and is harvested by the first set of solar panels to be installed at a Prem training ground, the state-of-the-art complex is a breathtaking sight.
And a facility which rivals any in the top flight will be key to attracting the kind of players Bournemouth will need if they are to continue their remarkable rise.
Evanilson left Champions League regulars Porto last summer to become the Cherries’ £31.5m record signing.
The Brazilian, 25, is impressed by the new centre and told SunSport: “I knew before I even came to Bournemouth they had big plans but I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it is.”
Owner Bill Foley is all about changing expectations around the plucky Cherries and the Performance Centre is just one part of that mission.
The American billionaire took over the club in December 2022 and set the target of bringing European football to the Vitality Stadium within five years.
In a recent interview with talkSPORT, Foley noted progress on the pitch was ahead of schedule and gave details about more of his plans off the field.
The biggest project is a stand-by-stand revamp of the 11,307-seater Vitality that will increase the capacity to 16,000 then 20,000 and 24,000.
Foley, 80, is building not only infrastructure but a football empire.
Through his Black Knight companies, he owns A-League side Auckland FC and minority stakes in Hibernian and French club Lorient — but Bournemouth are the jewel in the crown.
Next week, academy players and staff will move into the other half of the main building at the Performance Centre.
The first structure built on the site, 18 months ago, was the indoor dome that allowed the youth set-up to earn Category 2 status.
Bournemouth are gaining a reputation for giving those young players a chance to shine in the first team.
It is likely centre-back Dean Huijsen, 19, and 21-year-old left-back Milos Kerkez will leave this summer for fees totalling £100m.
But when technical director Simon Francis and president of football operations Tiago Pinto are trying to recruit fresh new talent, they can point to Huijsen, Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi (22), Dango Ouattara (23) and Alex Scott (21) as examples of the opportunities the club gives kids.
Brighton, Brentford and Southampton have used a similar model of identifying, developing and selling on talent while reinvesting in the next big things.
Extending Iraola contract
The Saints’ fall from grace is a warning about how that virtuous circle can become a vicious one if errors are made in player recruitment.
Bournemouth may well find rivals sniffing around Andoni Iraola this summer.
Talks about extending the head coach’s contract will be one thing on the agenda when Foley flies over next month.
Iraola was full of admiration after his first week’s training in their new HQ.
He said: “The pitches are perfect and we have all the tools we need.
“But the important thing is not what happens here in the building, it’s what happens out on the pitch.”